Energy as a Sociotechnical Problem: An Interdisciplinary Perspective on Control, Change, and Action in Energy Transitions

Energy as a Sociotechnical Problem offers an innovative approach to equip interdisciplinary research on sociotechnical transitions with coherence and focus. The book emphasizes sociotechnical problems in three analytical dimensions:

- In the control dimension, contributing authors examine how control can be maintained despite increasing complexity and uncertainty, e.g., in power grid operations or on energy markets;

- In the change dimension, the authors explore if and how change is possible despite the need for stable orientation, e.g., regarding discourses, real-world labs and learning;

- Finally, in the action dimension, the authors analyze how the ability to act on a permanent basis is sustained despite opaqueness and ignorance, exemplified by the work on trust, capabilities or individual motives.

Drawing on contributions from engineering, economics, philosophy, political science, psychology and sociology, the book assembles a range of classic and current themes including innovation, resilience, institutional economics, design or education. Energy as a Sociotechnical Problem presents the ongoing transformation of the energy complex as a multidimensional process, in which the analytical dimensions interact with each other in shaping the energy future. As such, this book will be of great interest to students and scholars of energy transitions, energy science and environmental social science more generally, as well as to practitioners working within the field of energy policy.

Christian Büscher is a senior researcher at the Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis (ITAS), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany.

Jens Schippl is a senior researcher at the Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis (ITAS), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany.

Patrick Sumpf is a research associate at the Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis (ITAS), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany.